By Jozsef Huszar • Updated: October 24, 2026

Crypto exchange fees look small until you add them up. A 0.60% fee on a $1,000 trade is $6.00, and a 3.99% card fee on the same trade is $39.90. We checked eight crypto platforms and products from a fee table researched on October 24, 2026, and every number comes from the providers’ own fee schedules. This guide turns percentages into dollars, so you can compare platforms by what they cost you. If you are new to the basics, start with our crypto basics guide first.

Quick comparison

The table below lists each platform’s minimum, its trading fee or spread, who it suits and whether it is FDIC insured. Fees are quoted at the entry tier unless noted. Read the Trading Fee / Spread column first: it shows how much the pricing depends on your 30-day trading volume and on the way you place an order.

Platform / Product	Account Minimum ($)	Trading Fee / Spread	Best For / Platform Strength	FDIC Insured
Coinbase Advanced – Coinbase Exchange	0	Maker: 0.00%–0.40%; Taker: 0.04%–0.60%, based on trailing 30-day trading volume. Stable pairs have separate fees: 0.00% maker and 0.0045% taker. No built-in spread for order-book trading; network and other fees may apply.	Active crypto traders seeking order-book trading, limit orders, and volume-based maker/taker pricing.	No
Kraken – Kraken	0	1% for instant and recurring trades; 1.5% for custom orders, plus spread and possible payment fees. Kraken+ waives eligible trading fees on up to $10,000 monthly volume, but spreads and card processing fees still apply. Kraken Pro uses a separate fee schedule.	Beginners seeking a straightforward way to buy, sell, convert, and stake cryptocurrencies; also offers commission-free stock and ETF trading in the U.S.	No
Kraken – Kraken Pro	0	Spot crypto: 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker at the entry tier, decreasing with qualifying 30-day trading volume or platform assets. Stablecoin and FX pairs have separate fee schedules. Order-book trading uses maker/taker fees; margin and derivatives incur additional fees.	Active and advanced crypto traders seeking detailed order-book controls, competitive volume-based fees, spot and futures trading, and commission-free stock and ETF trading in the U.S.	No
Gemini – ActiveTrader	0	Spot: 0.60% taker / 0.40% maker at the entry tier, with lower fees based on 30-day trading volume or asset balance. Selected stablecoin pairs have 0% fees; other stablecoin pairs have 0% maker / 0.01% taker fees. Derivatives and margin incur separate fees and interest.	Active crypto traders seeking advanced order-book trading, volume-based fee discounts, API access, and support for spot and derivatives markets.	No
Crypto.com – Crypto.com App / Exchange	$0 for account opening; minimum deposit requirements vary by funding method. EUR SEPA deposits: €1 minimum.	Spot: 0.25% maker / 0.50% taker at the entry tier, reduced to 0.2425% / 0.485% with at least 1,000 CRO. Lower fees are available at higher trading-volume tiers. Derivatives have separate fees, starting at 0.02% maker / 0.04% taker.	Active crypto traders seeking spot and derivatives markets, volume-based fee discounts, and additional trading benefits for holding CRO. Supports EUR SEPA deposits.	No
Robinhood – Robinhood Europe	Not specified	Crypto: 0.95% (minimum €0.01); EURC trades: 0%. Perpetual futures: 0.02% maker / 0.04% taker total, plus 0.05% liquidation fee if applicable. Stock tokens: 0.10% FX conversion fee per transaction. Crypto transfers: €0 platform fee, but network fees apply.	European users seeking crypto trading, staking, perpetual futures, and tokenized US stocks through one platform.	No
Bitstamp – Bitstamp Exchange	$0 account-opening minimum not specified; minimum trade typically €10 for fiat/stablecoin-denominated pairs	Order book: 0.30% maker / 0.40% taker at under $10,000 in 30-day volume; lower with higher volume, down to 0% maker / 0.03% taker at the highest tier. Basic Trading: 1.8% fixed spread for other crypto-assets or 0.5% for stablecoins, plus a variable spread of up to 0.5%. Card instant purchases: 4%	Established crypto exchange with order-book trading, volume-based fees, staking, and multiple fiat deposit and withdrawal methods.	No
Binance.US – Binance.US Advanced	$0 account-opening minimum not specified	Advanced Spot Trading: 0% maker / 0.02% taker for most pairs; BNB/USD: 0% maker / 0.01% taker. Pay fees in BNB for a 5% discount. ACH deposits and withdrawals are free; debit/credit card purchases cost 3.99%. Buy/Sell/Convert may include spreads.	US-based crypto traders seeking very low spot-trading fees, advanced order-book trading, and access to 200+ cryptocurrencies. Availability and custody arrangements vary by state.	No

Two things stand out. Binance.US has the lowest entry-tier order-book fee at 0% maker and 0.02% taker, while Kraken’s instant-buy product charges 1% to 1.5%. Every row says “No” for FDIC insurance, so none of these platforms offers bank-style deposit protection.

How we chose and what protection applies

We started with the providers in the fee table and did not add or remove any. Each row is a specific product, not a whole company, because the same company can charge very different fees across its apps. Kraken and Kraken Pro are listed separately for that reason.

FDIC insurance covers deposits at insured banks. It does not cover crypto assets. The FDIC’s own fact sheet says deposit insurance does not apply to crypto assets and does not protect you if a non-bank crypto company fails. You can read it on the FDIC crypto fact sheet. Securities-style protection is a separate topic, covered in our investor protection guide.

It also helps to know how the fee column works. Order-book platforms charge an explicit percentage, split into maker and taker rates, and your rate falls as your trailing 30-day volume rises. Simpler “buy” products often add a spread, which is a markup built into the price you see, so the fee shown is not the full cost. Kraken’s and Bitstamp’s Basic Trading rows both say spreads apply on top of the listed fee.

One availability point matters before you compare prices. Robinhood Europe is run by Robinhood Europe, UAB, which is authorized and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania, so it serves European customers rather than US ones. Binance.US publishes a list of supported and unsupported states, and some services vary by state: check the Binance.US state list before you register.

What a typical trader looks like

Fees depend on how you trade, so we need one realistic profile. We assume a person who buys $500 of crypto every month, which is $6,000 a year. Each purchase is a market order, so it pays the higher “taker” rate where a platform has maker and taker pricing. A maker order is a limit order that waits on the order book, and it usually costs less.

Because $500 a month is small, this profile always sits in the entry tier. Volume discounts start at much higher 30-day volumes. We apply each fee as a percentage of the amount traded. Price moves, spreads, network fees and taxes are not included, since they change from day to day and are not in the fee schedules.

Robinhood Europe quotes fees in euros. We apply its 0.95% rate to a $1,000-equivalent trade so the table stays comparable. Treat that row as an illustration, not an offer to US readers.

What it costs in real life

Table 2 shows what the entry-tier fees cost on a single $1,000 trade, over one year of $500 monthly buys ($6,000), and over ten years ($60,000). We chose one year and ten years because crypto investors usually either test a platform or commit to a long habit. Where a platform has maker and taker rates, the cell shows maker to taker. Kraken’s cell shows its 1% instant rate to its 1.5% custom-order rate, and spreads and payment fees come on top. Fees are calculated as rate multiplied by the amount traded.

Platform / Product	Entry-tier rate	One $1,000 trade	One year ($6,000 traded)	Ten years ($60,000 traded)
Coinbase Advanced – Coinbase Exchange	0.40%-0.60%	$4.00-$6.00	$24-$36	$240-$360
Kraken – Kraken	1.00%-1.50%	$10.00-$15.00	$60-$90	$600-$900
Kraken – Kraken Pro	0.40%-0.80%	$4.00-$8.00	$24-$48	$240-$480
Gemini – ActiveTrader	0.40%-0.60%	$4.00-$6.00	$24-$36	$240-$360
Crypto.com – Crypto.com App / Exchange	0.25%-0.50%	$2.50-$5.00	$15-$30	$150-$300
Robinhood – Robinhood Europe	0.95%	$9.50	$57	$570
Bitstamp – Bitstamp Exchange	0.30%-0.40%	$3.00-$4.00	$18-$24	$180-$240
Binance.US – Binance.US Advanced	0%-0.02%	$0.00-$0.20	$0-$1.20	$0-$12

The gap is large over time. After ten years of the same habit, Binance.US costs at most $12 in order-book fees, Crypto.com $150 to $300, and Kraken’s instant product $600 to $900. That is a difference of up to $888 on the same $60,000 of purchases. The cheapest rows are built for traders who place limit orders and understand order books. Kraken’s higher-priced product is priced for convenience.

Some published ranges go lower than the entry tier. Coinbase’s range reaches $0.00 to $0.40 on a $1,000 trade, and Bitstamp’s reaches $0.00 to $0.30, but only at very high 30-day volumes. A $500-a-month saver will not get there. The takeaway is not that one platform is “best” for everyone. It is that the rate you pay is mostly a choice about product and order type. Next, we look at the mistakes that raise your costs even on a cheap platform.

What happens if you pick the wrong order type or payment method

Your cost depends less on the platform than on how you use it. Table 3 compares the cheaper path with the costlier path on a $1,000 purchase, using only the fee table’s numbers. We left out Robinhood Europe because its table row has no cheaper alternative inside the same product that a US reader could use.

Platform / Product	Cheaper path	Costlier path	Extra cost on $1,000
Coinbase Advanced – Coinbase Exchange	Maker order, 0.40%: $4.00	Taker order, 0.60%: $6.00	$2.00
Kraken – Kraken Pro	Kraken Pro maker, 0.40%: $4.00	Kraken instant buy, 1%: $10.00 (spread and payment fees extra)	$6.00
Gemini – ActiveTrader	Maker order, 0.40%: $4.00	Taker order, 0.60%: $6.00	$2.00
Crypto.com – Crypto.com App / Exchange	Taker with 1,000 CRO, 0.485%: $4.85	Taker without CRO, 0.50%: $5.00	$0.15
Bitstamp – Bitstamp Exchange	Order book taker, 0.40%: $4.00	Basic Trading, 1.8% plus up to 0.5% variable spread: $18.00-$23.00; card instant purchase, 4%: $40.00	$14.00-$19.00 (Basic Trading); $36.00 (card)
Binance.US – Binance.US Advanced	ACH funding plus 0.02% taker: $0.20	Card purchase, 3.99%: $39.90	$39.70

The pattern is clear. Using a card or a “simple” buy button costs far more than using a bank transfer and an order book. On Binance.US, paying by card instead of ACH turns a $0.20 fee into $39.90. On Bitstamp, a card purchase costs $36.00 more than an order-book taker trade. The CRO discount at Crypto.com is worth only $0.15 per $1,000 traded, so buying 1,000 CRO to unlock it makes sense only for a very active trader.

Remember that Kraken’s instant-buy fee excludes spread and card processing fees, so the real gap is wider than $6.00. Learn the difference between maker and taker orders in our order types guide, then use limit orders when you are not in a hurry. In practice, that means three habits: link your bank account for ACH funding, switch from the simple buy screen to the order-book screen, and place limit orders instead of market orders. Each habit moves you from the costlier column to the cheaper one in the table above.

Which one fits you

Beginners who buy a little every month

Look at Kraken, but understand the price of convenience. Its instant and recurring trades cost 1% on each purchase, which is $60 a year on $6,000. That is acceptable if simplicity helps you stick to a habit, and the product also supports staking. Once you are comfortable, Kraken Pro cuts the entry maker rate to 0.40%, or $24 a year on the same amount, so a $36 yearly saving is available just by changing screens.

Cost-focused traders in a supported US state

Binance.US has the lowest entry-tier order-book fees in the table, at 0% maker and 0.02% taker. Fund the account by ACH, which is free, and avoid the 3.99% card fee. Check that your state is supported first, because availability and custody arrangements vary by state. On $60,000 of purchases over ten years, its entry-tier cost is at most $12, against $240 to $360 at Coinbase Advanced or Gemini. The trade-off is that you must be comfortable with an order-book interface and with the state-by-state limits.

Active traders who want volume discounts

Coinbase Advanced, Gemini ActiveTrader, Kraken Pro, Crypto.com and Bitstamp all use volume-based maker and taker pricing. At the entry tier, Crypto.com has the lowest maker rate at 0.25% and Bitstamp the lowest taker rate at 0.40%, while Gemini and Coinbase sit at 0.40% maker and 0.60% taker. Derivatives and margin carry separate fees on all of them, so read those schedules before you use leverage. If you trade often, the volume tiers matter more than the entry rate: Coinbase’s published taker range runs from 0.04% to 0.60%, and Bitstamp’s falls to 0.03% at its highest tier. Keep in mind that the lowest rates need very large 30-day volumes.

Readers in Europe

Robinhood Europe is built for European customers and charges 0.95% on crypto, with 0% on EURC trades. It is not a US option, so US readers should use the other seven rows. If you live in Europe, note that the 0.95% rate is higher than most order-book rates in this table, and that stock tokens add a 0.10% foreign-exchange conversion fee per transaction.

Our bottom line: use an order book and a bank transfer wherever you can. That one habit saves more than switching between most of these platforms.

What we did not cover

We did not cover promotions, sign-up bonuses, referral rewards or staking yields, because they change often and depend on the account. We also left out network fees, withdrawal fees, spreads on order-book trades, taxes, and the full set of supported coins. Margin and derivatives fees are mentioned only where the fee table lists them. We did not add platforms beyond the eight rows in our fee table, and we did not rank products that were not in it. If you use a platform we omitted, you can apply the same method: convert its maker, taker, spread and card rates into dollars on a $1,000 trade, then compare.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my crypto FDIC insured on an exchange?

No. The FDIC says deposit insurance does not cover crypto assets, and it does not protect you if a non-bank crypto company fails. All eight platforms in our table are marked “No” for FDIC insurance. Treat exchange balances as uninsured and move long-term holdings to a wallet you control if you are worried.

What is the difference between a maker and a taker fee?

A maker adds an order to the order book, such as a limit order that waits for your price. A taker removes an order from the book, such as a market order that fills instantly. Taker fees are usually higher. On Gemini’s entry tier, that is 0.40% maker against 0.60% taker, or $4.00 against $6.00 per $1,000.

Why does paying by card cost so much more?

Card purchases add a payment fee on top of the trading fee. Bitstamp lists 4% for instant card purchases and Binance.US lists 3.99%, which is about $40 on $1,000. A bank transfer by ACH is free on Binance.US. If you are not in a rush, fund the account by bank transfer.

Do I need to hold CRO to get lower fees on Crypto.com?

Holding at least 1,000 CRO lowers the entry-tier rate from 0.25% maker and 0.50% taker to 0.2425% and 0.485%. On a $1,000 taker trade that saves $0.15. Unless you trade very large volumes, the saving is too small to justify buying and holding the token.

Can I use Binance.US in every US state?

No. Binance.US publishes lists of supported, unsupported and restricted states, and some states have limited services. Availability can change over time, so check the official Binance.US state list before you open an account, and confirm which services are available in your state today.

Methodology and last update

This guide uses a fee table researched on October 24, 2026. Rates come from each provider’s own fee schedule, linked in the first column of every table, and from the FDIC’s public fact sheet. We recalculate every dollar figure ourselves and refresh the guide monthly. Fees change often, so confirm the current schedule on the provider’s page before you trade. This guide is general information and not personalized financial advice.